Shirley Edgerton said Harrington has a better sense of the power of the office. PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Andrea Harrington says the "status quo" in the district attorney's office is not working for Berkshire County. "It is time to have a district attorney with integrity and who is accountable to this community," Harrington said. The local attorney said North Adams has the highest crime rate per capita in the state and Pittsfield ranks ninth.The district attorney's office, which had been occupied by David Capeless for the last 14 years, can do much more in a preventative manner than it has been doing, she said. Harrington is now running

Graduations Lauren Levardi from Pittsfield was awarded a bachelor of science in exercise and sports science from Coastal Carolina University in Conway, S.C., during commencement exercises on May 4-5. She was one of 1,183 students who walked during commencement, which had head football coach Joe Moglia as the speaker. Assumption College awarded 617 degrees during its 101st commencement exercises on Sunday, May 13, held at the DCU Center in downtown Worcester, including to Taylor Kline of Adams and Sarah Morley of Pittsfield. The speaker was the Most Rev. Robert E. Barron, S.T.D., auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Curry College in Milton awarded

Like most people, you probably know several organizations worthy of your philanthropy, and you may well have contributed to them, perhaps on an annual basis. In the past, when you've made charitable donations, it's been a win-win: You were able to provide support to a worthy organization and you received some valuable tax benefits.

But with the passage of the new tax laws, things may have changed considerably for many people. Are there still tax benefits to making a charitable donation?

Here's some background: Previously, you may have been able to deduct your charitable donations if you itemized deductions on your income tax return. So, for example, if you were in the 25

The Great Barrington Millers and Berkshire Thunder are off to fast starts in the Berkshire Adult Baseball League this season. Each team has gone 2-0 to lead, respectively, the 20-year-old and over-35 divisions in the 13-team league. Last week, the Thunder defeated the Outlaws, 14-0, behind three hits and three stolen bases from Bruce Blake. Rob Yeaton had two hits for the outlaws. The Millers edged Lenox, 7-5. Scot McFarland hit a home run, and Chris Walker earned the win on the mound. Justin Hopkins had a double and an RBI for Lenox. In last week’s other game, the Adams Aces won their opener, 8-0, over Tunnel City. Corey Swistak had a triple, and Jeremy

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — The Adams man accused by the government of plotting a terror attack and providing material support to the Islamic State pleaded guilty to all charges in federal court on Monday afternoon.

Alexander Ciccolo, 25, admitted to supporting ISIS, planning a terror attack at an unnamed college campus outside Massachusetts, illegally possessing firearms and assaulting a nurse at the Franklin County Jail on the first night of his incarceration during a 50-minute hearing before Judge Mark G. Mastroianni. According to a plea agreement negotiated between Ciccolo’s lawyers and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Ciccolo would be sentenced to 20 years in prison and a

Roots Rising, Pittsfield's farm-based youth development program, was developed in collaboration by Alchemy Initiative and Berkshire Botanical Garden, and launched in 2017. Now that the program is in operation, the two organizations have agreed to shift to a single managing organization. This will ensure the most efficient oversight of the program’s continued growth and success. Effective immediately, Roots Rising will become a program of Alchemy Initiative, with Berkshire Botanical Garden stepping aside as a program partner.

Both Alchemy Initiative and Berkshire Botanical Garden are extremely proud of Roots Rising's achievements in its first year of operation. In

Keith Bona checks out his piano at Memorial School. ADAMS, Mass. — More than a dozen pianos are being transformed into singular artworks to evoke the county's musical and artistic heritage. Dirty, dusty and out of tune, these castoffs found new partners as local artists tramped through the empty Memorial School last Tuesday to select the perfect piano for their endeavors. Sue MacVeety of Sheffield had come prepared with primer, covering her selection with its first base coat of white. Keith Bona of North Adams picked a large upright and was planning out a celestial concept and figuring how he might use the frame-like back. "This

Taconic graduate Dom Nda is headed to the NCAA Division III Track and Field Championships next weekend in Wisconsin. The UMass Boston senior qualified as an individual in the 100-meter dash and will run a leg on the Beacon’s 4-by-100 relay quartet. Earlier this month, the 4-by-100 relay squad broke the school’s record in the event by clocking a time of 41.15 seconds at the MIT Last Chance Qualifying Meet. Nda is just one of several area alumni who are competing or have competed in national championships this spring. At the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III Championships over the weekend in Minnesota, Hoosac Valley graduate Kali

PITTSFIELD, Mass. -- Baseball in the Berkshires held the Pitch, Hit and Run Competition at Belanger field on May 12. Although the weather was un-baseball like - cold and rainy - the competition was held, and six boys and girls qualified to move onto the sectionals which will be held in Hadley on June 2. Qualifiers at the sectional competition will move to the regional competition to be held at Fenway Park and the finals at the All-Star Game Weekend in Washington, D.C. Qualifiers from the Pittsfield event included: Aiden Arsenau, Aiden Underdown, Jason Fields Jr., Lily Smith, Gavin O'Donnell and James Smith.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Girls Inc. of the Berkshires awarded scholarship to 10 young women at its annual Ruth P. Boraksi Celebration Evening on May 3. The event recognizes the achievements of young women throughout Berkshire County and awarded scholarships through the Ruth P. Boraski Funds for Girls and on behalf of area community partners.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts has announced the recipients of the eighth annual Berkshire County Educator Recognition Award. This award, presented by MCLA in collaboration with Berkshire County K-12 superintendents and Berkshire Community College, was created to honor the region’s exceptional teachers.

The recipients, all of whom recently were recognized at an MCLA ceremony, are Deborah Hartwig (Early Childhood – Community Setting), a Head Start teacher at Berkshire Head Start in Adams; April Mazzeo (Pre-K-Grade 2), a first-grade teacher at Hoosac Valley Elementary School in the Adams-Cheshire School District; Kimberly Comier (Grades 3-6), a

STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. — The Norman Rockwell Museum has appointed Mary A. Berle, a Harvard-trained educator who is the current Principal of Muddy Brook Elementary School in Great Barrington, as the museum’s new chief educator.

Berle will officially join the museum on September 1, 2018, assuming a newly created senior-level position to lead the museum’s education vision at a pivotal time of growth. In this position, she will build on the strengths of the museum’s robust education program currently led by Chief Curator Stephanie Plunkett and Digital Learning Director Rich Bradway.

As a member of the museum’s strategic leadership team, Berle will oversee all